Chapter 537: Stone Gambling
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The boss wanted to polish the stone into a high-quality jade bracelet. He held the bracelet core in the middle and asked Zeng Sanshui, “Sir, do you know what you want to carve on this bracelet?”
Zeng Sanshui shook his head. “What do you think looks good?”
The boss smiled and said, “The man wears Guanyin and the woman wears Buddha. If you don’t have any idea, you can choose these two.”
Zeng Sanshui thought of his mother being a Buddhism. “Then carve a Buddha for me. You must carve it carefully and make it look good!”
The boss chuckled. “We’ll charge another ten taels of silver for the processing fee for the carving. If there’s a specific Buddha style, you can specify a technician and the price will have to be further discussed.”
These were all standard charges. Lan Jingbai did not say a word and waited for Zeng Sanshui to make his own decision.
Zeng Sanshui thought for a moment. “Which technicians and Buddha statues are there for me to choose from?”
The boss reacted quickly and took out a thick stack of Buddha statues from the cabinet beside him. In addition, there were introductions for each technique and the technicians’ qualifications.
It was quite detailed.
Zeng Sanshui was about to choose when he remembered something important. “I’m leaving tomorrow. When can I collect this?”
The boss smiled and said, “The Buddha statue is carved piously. It can’t be rushed. It will take at least ten days.”
“If you’re in a hurry, I still have a lot of stock here. You can take a look.”
It was impossible for Zeng Sanshui to stay here for more days. He thought of how they were going to continue walking, so he said, “I’m not going to choose anymore. Arrange for the best technician for me to carve this Buddha. I’ll come back to collect it when I return to the Ling Kingdom.”
The boss smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll definitely keep it for you.”
Zeng Sanshui was very satisfied with the boss’ service attitude. Beside him, Lan Jingbai and Qu Yuanxian were already sipping on their tea.
Before leaving, Zeng Sanshui took a few glances at the stone that had a hole removed and asked Qu Yuanxian, “Lord Qu, why didn’t you choose a style?”
This stone was really good. It was bright and shiny, and the texture was very good.
If he bought a few, he could earn a lot when he brought them back.
It was not that Qu Yuanxian did not want to buy it. Their family’s wealth could not compare to Zeng Sanshui’s.
Moreover, a few dozen taels did not seem like much, but as mentioned by Lu Ye previously, if they spent more than 1,000 taels, they would have to pay an export tax.
Qu Yuanxian had bought a lot of things.
Just now, he had asked about the tax rate on jade. It was even more expensive than the original price of jade.
Although it was still much cheaper than in Ling Kingdom, Qu Yuanxian wanted to shop around first and buy it after comparing the goods.
He smiled and said to Zeng Sanshui, “Let me take a look first.”
Zeng Sanshui thought about it and agreed. This was only the first stall. It was normal for Qu Yuanxian to want to continue looking.
They continued walking forward. When they reached the second stall, they saw an extremely beautiful purple jade. The color was dreamy like the misty rain in Jiangnan.
Qu Yuanxian’s gaze froze. This refreshing material was very suitable for his granddaughter, Qu Xin’er.
Qu Yuanxian asked for the price. “How much material does it take to make a set of headwear?”
The shopkeeper took out five bracelets for them at once. The color was similar and it was clear. There was no cotton inside at all. It was the best among all the stone material.
Qu Yuanxian looked around. The shopkeeper was shining his flashlight at the side.
The crystal clear texture made it look even more beautiful.
Satisfied, Qu Yuanxian asked the boss, “How much money do these five bracelets cost?”
The boss pointed at the first row of small words at the bottom of the bracelet. “The price is all here.”
Qu Yuanxian looked at it. Each one actually cost 100 taels. The purple jade beside it that was not as clear also cost at least 80 taels.
Qu Yuanxian looked at Lan Jingbai, hoping that he would help to bargain.
Lan Jingbai received his signal and took a step forward. “Ten taels per bracelet.”
The boss immediately looked heartbroken. “How can it cost only 10 taels? 10 taels isn’t even enough to buy a raw stone outside.”
Lan Jingbai said lightly, “1 know my way around. 10 taels. If you want to sell it, sell it.”
The boss was stunned by Lan Jingbai. He gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, I’ll give it to you!”
Zeng Sanshui’s eyes widened in shock.
It cost 10 taels of silver for each bracelet, and there were even bracelet cores inside.
Such good material was worth at least a few hundred taels in the Ling Kingdom.
If all his prodigal concubines spent their money here, how much money could they save!
Zeng Sanshui was so generous that he did not even bargain further. He said to the boss, “Wrap up the rest of this stone for me!”
He felt that it was really too cheap.
The boss was overjoyed. “Alright, customer!”
Qu Yuanxian frowned slightly. “General Zeng, aren’t you going to look at the other stalls?”
This stone material could be processed into at least a dozen bracelets.
That was too much.
When Zeng Sanshui returned, he would definitely pay a lot of taxes.
Zeng Sanshui did not understand what Qu Yuanxian meant and laughed. “It’s fine. I have many women at home.”
Since there were many women at home, Qu Yuanxian did not say anything else.
In any case, even if they paid the taxes, it was still cheaper to buy in Carefree Kingdom.
Moreover, this piece of material was quite good overall. It was fine if they did not bargain further for 10 taels of silver.
After leaving the stall, Zeng Sanshui asked Lan Jingbai, “Do you really know the market here?”
Lan Jingbai shook his head. “1 heard from an expert that the best bracelet in the market can’t exceed 100 taels of silver.”
Zeng Sanshui’s eyes lit up. “Then is the green jade material I bought far from it?”
Lan Jingbai said, “For things like jade, the price difference is almost astronomical. Yours isn’t too bad.”
Zeng Sanshui was very happy. He thought about making a few more sets of pure imperial jade for himself and showing off to those old fellows when he returned.
They continued to shop. All kinds of finished jade materials were displayed in the market. Be it the decorations, jade pendants, or jewelry, they were all the most exquisite ones.
Although Zeng Sanshui was a man, he also experienced the pleasure of shopping here.
After walking around, Zeng Sanshui bought some blue, white, red, and jade jewelry carved by the masters of two studios. They were especially exquisite and eye-catching. He also spent a lot of money to buy two masterpieces.
Qu Yuanxian was not as rich as him. He only bought one for his family within his budget and spent less than 200 taels in total.
However, Zeng Sanshui had spent nearly 20,000 taels.
Fortunately, Lu Ye guaranteed that he would give him some money on credit. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to spend it even if he wanted to.
Every time the pure imperial green jade was mined, everyone would fight to buy it back for their collection.
If Zeng Sanshui wanted to buy it now, he could only go to the stone quarry to see if he was lucky.
Zeng Sanshui had long wanted to try gambling there. After seeing so many jade, he no longer had his eyes on the white jade that the soldier had bought for five taels of silver. He wanted to soar into the sky and buy a stone to get imperial jade.
As soon as they arrived at the stone factory, they saw many stone merchants and tourists who had come to open stones because of the place’s reputation.
Bai Shining’s family of three was also here. They had even spent a lot of money to buy a piece of 500 kilograms of raw material..
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